The discovery of instant coffee was followed by dehydrated package soups, noodles, mashed potatoes, and instant whipped topping.

Microwaves and ready meals replaced cooking with push button speed.

This week my daughter gave a pouch of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice to me. It cooks in 90 seconds in the microwave. No need to wait 20 minutes while rice cooks on the stovetop. If you prefer preparing the Ready Rice in a skillet, it takes only seconds to heat the rice.

We have television, video, news, music, books and information on demand. We can tune in the weather forecast 24/7.

Dishwashers have replaced standing at the sink doing dishes.

We are able to buy and sell stocks with the touch of a button.

Yes, we are an instant society.

But we haven't figured out a way to quickly get a real operator when we need help contacting our service representatives. "Please punch one, two, three, four, five or six. Our next available operator will be with you."